The Board of Commissioners approved a package of vendor awards and two accounts‑payable lists at its July 24 meeting, moving forward with network, server and equipment purchases and routine operating payments.
During the meeting the board voted to award the following procurements as recommended by the senior director of facilities and IT and the IT director: Forticare — $139,467.56 for block‑5 services; Office 365 subscriptions to SI RFC/Software Information Resource — $85,653.47; Aruba network switching (Block 5 Technologies) — $401,195.94; VMware licensing to Acilient — $31,711.68; Dell servers to Block 5 Technologies — not to exceed $50,160; Fortinet equipment — $155,496; Netgear equipment — not to exceed $9,409.02; and a TrueNAS storage appliance to Block 5 Technologies — $129,576.26. In each case staff told the board several lower bids failed to meet specifications or warranty requirements.
The board also approved fiscal paperwork: an FY25 accounts‑payable list totaling $1,260,324.92 and an FY26 accounts‑payable list totaling $631,417.67. The finance director told the board FY25 is being closed out and departments had timely submitted encumbrances.
In addition, the board approved awards for the sheriff’s office: FY26 uniforms and equipment to Neptune — not to exceed $43,944; and concealable/tactical body armor to DCF Investigative Services LLC — not to exceed $18,470. Staff said Neptune has been the vendor for four years and stocks patches and measurement services for new hires.
Board members asked staff to confirm specification compliance where the recommended vendor was not the lowest bidder. Staff responded that lower bidders either did not bid on required items or did not meet warranty/specification standards, and that continuity with existing suppliers was a factor in some awards.
The awards and accounts‑payable approvals were presented and approved during the public session; each motion passed with board votes recorded as affirmative in the meeting minutes.